


Punch

by Jinxter



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-18 00:57:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7293010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinxter/pseuds/Jinxter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Neal Nolan's first birthday party, and Emma is late. She jumps into the festivities with unintended fervour (unwittingly drinking alcoholic punch) and Regina lends a helping hand.</p><p>A little Emma angst but mostly a short, sweet, bit of fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Punch

**Author's Note:**

> Rough, un-betaed, all mistakes my own. Features Oblivious!Charmings, and Understanding!SwanQueen. I guess allusions to anxieties from unspecified early-life experiences but nothing detailed. Briefest of brief mentions of Hook and I didn't even write his part in like I expected but cbf going back and editing him out completely. Short, sweet, pretty fluffy.

The little boy toddled towards his sister across the cobbled stone of Granny's al fresco area, chubby arms outstretched, a lollipop firmly gripped in his sticky fist. He let loose a high-pitched squeal as she wrapped her arms around him and swung him around, his legs flying outwards with the centrifugal force. She pretended to try to reach the lollipop with her mouth and he squealed again, flailing against her.

She kissed his cheek over and over as he giggled and wriggled in her arms, eventually resting her chin on the top of his head as she carried him back over to the table he had launched himself at her from. "Happy birthday, little Bae," she said softly into his ear and placed him back down onto his feet, careful that he had his balance before she let him go. He ran to their father who picks the boy up and leans across him to and kissed her cheek before flying the toddler like an aeroplane over to the playpen where Thomas and Zelena play with Alex and Robyn, or "Bean" as everyone seemed to call her these days.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, her hands sliding into the back pockets of her jeans out of sheer habit and the sole her boot scuffed the ground.

"That's my line," Regina teased and took a sip from her drink through the clear straw.

Snow rolled her eyes at Regina but grinned as well, stood and greeted her daughter with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Emma, I'm so glad you made it. Is everything okay?" She placed her hands on Emma's biceps and instinctively scanned the woman for any visible injuries. 

The Sheriff placed her hands on her hips, the movement raising her arms away from her mother's hands, which slid off. "Yeah, it was just a scuffle at the docks, nothing to worry about. Both cooling their heels in the station, Mulan will let them out when they've sobered up."

Snow smiled and reached again for Emma's arm. "Good, good. Here," she said, guiding her daughter towards the family table, "you sit and I'll get you a glass of punch." 

"Hey Mom," Henry said through a mouthful of cake when she squeezed onto the bench seat next to him.

She ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head. "Hey, kid." Over the top of his head, she smiled at his other mother. "Hey, Regina."

"Hey," the other woman said with a smile, and anyone watching closely would have noticed the tension relax out of her shoulders at the eventual arrival of the only tolerable adult Charming.

Emma nodded at the tall glass in Regina's hand. "What's that? No punch for you?"

"Soda with a twist of lime. I'm a Queen--"

"And a little more refined," Emma finished with a grin. "Yeah, yeah."

A plastic cup appeared in front of her, and she gazed into its watery orange depths with a raised eyebrow and took a sip of the sweet liquid, pieces of floating fruit bump against her lip. "Thanks, Mom."

Her mother patted her shoulder and gazed across the courtyard at her husband and son, her eyes bright and warm, a smile playing at her lips.

Emma took another long swig of her drink and stole a cold french fry from her son's plate.

Two hours later she found herself in the bathroom, leaning over the basin. She squinted at her eyes in the mirror and leaned closer with a frown.

The door swung open behind her, and in the mirror she sees Regina stop and observe her, her arms crossed and her head slowly tilted to the side.

"Do my eyes look normal to you?"

Regina raised one eyebrow and stepped closer. Emma turned a little too fast, wobbled, and leaned back when she realised how close Regina was. Dark brown eyes stared into her own.

"They look fine to me." Emma watched her lips move.

"I don't feel quite right." Her eyes look back into Regina's. "I think... I think Hook put something in my drink." She lowers her eyes to the edge of the basin, where the cool porcelain felt good against her hot palm.

She knew she shouldn't have been surprised that her parents had invited her ex to her brother's first birthday party, but the sight of him had been jarring nonetheless. Still, he had been reasonably pleasant, he hadn't brought one of the various women he had been seen around town with, and he'd brought her a drink, spoken to her only briefly, before moving on to help David patch a small hole in the bounce house.

"Other than all the alcohol?" 

Emma raised her face quickly to Regina, whose features blurred slightly before coming into focus. Her brows furrowed and she studied the other woman's seeming amusement.

"Alcohol? But all the kids were drinking punch too."

Regina's smile faltered. "Yes, from the children's punchbowl outside. The adults' punchbowl is inside and about 80 proof."

With a shuffle, Emma's mouth dropped open and she cranked on the faucet to splash cold water on her face. A hand touched the small of her back. "Are you alright, Emma?"

She shut the faucet off and stood tall again, wiping water from her eyes with the backs of her hands. "I didn't know. I was gulping it down, I didn't know." She blinked and turned to wipe a droplet of water off her chin onto her shoulder.

Regina thought back over the time she had known Emma, the one scotch the first night they met, the one pint of beer when she returned through the well, one glass of wine at Henry's birthday dinner at her house. "You don't drink much, do you."

Blonde curls swung as her head shook, and she squeezed her eyes shut as the movement had unwanted effects on her balance. "Not much. Not enough to feel...like this."

"Vulnerable." Emma's eyes met again with Regina's, and the wideness of them called to her. Regina smiled and rubbed her thumb back and forth across the fabric of Emma's tank top. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Regina paused at the diner's counter and curled her finger to summon Ruby from where she leaned across it talking to Cinderella. Emma continued out the front door to where her family was gathered, each step deliberate and only a slight sway to her gait.

"Hey, kid, did you still want to stay at Nick and Ava's tonight?" 

Henry ducked away from her when she tried to ruffle his hair again. "Yeah. Ava sent me a message they would be coming by in half an hour to pick me up. Is it still okay?" Her hand landed on and squeezed his shoulder instead. 

"Of course." She didn't mind at all that her son would be working the sugary treats out of his system by playing with his friends instead of talking non-stop to her as he did at other times when she spoiled him with treats. She wasn't sure her brain could take it right now.

"Thank you for inviting me to the party," Regina said when she re-joined them outside a moment later. Her smile to Snow was polite, but it reached her eyes. 

"You're leaving," Snow asked, seemingly surprised despite almost everyone except family had already left the party. Zelena had gone more than an hour before to start getting Bean settled for the evening. She came towards Regina with Neal in her outstretched arms, and as much as she tried to act standoffish to the Charmings, the way the young boy clung to her as she hugged him goodbye and planted kisses on his forehead spoke volumes of the true growth of their relationship as a family unit.

David draped his long arm around his wife's shoulders as their son was handed back to them. "Thank you for coming, Regina."

Emma, with a quick glance to where Hook watched her from the table inside the diner, took a step away from the group. "Bye guys," she said.

"Emma, you're leaving too?"

"She's walking me home," Regina stated, and Snow's mouth closed as the older brunette's held her gaze. 

"See you tomorrow," Emma said with a wave to her brother. His small fingers clenched and unclenched as he did a scrunchy-baby wave back to her.

Regina linked her arm through Emma's as they reached the street. "Some fresh air will do you good."

The walk to Emma's house was only fifteen minutes, but she had to admit she did feel quite a bit better after it. Physically, at least. She opened the front door, and Regina followed her inside. She closed the door behind her and made a bee-line for the kitchen. "Come," she ordered as she disappeared into it. Emma finished tugging off her boots before she followed.

A glass of water was held out to Emma. "Drink." She finished it, and Regina refilled the glass and filled one of her own.

Emma sighed and leaned back against the counter. Regina joined her, a small distance apart, and sipped her own water slowly. The silence hung in the air, but only Emma began to tense as it stretched out.

"Talk to me."

She sighed a second time and raised her knee, the flat of her bare foot pressed against the cupboard door. "I'm just annoyed."

"At?"

A few moments passed. "Myself, I guess. I should have been able to taste the alcohol, or noticed sooner, at least, that it was there. I just thought... it's a kid's birthday party. In the afternoon."

Regina chuckled. "Children's first birthday parties are mostly for the adults. And good punch is supposed to be alcoholic without tasting like alcohol. You weren't to know." 

Emma's raised knee began to bounce, Regina remained silent while Emma chewed her lip until she spoke again, so quietly that Regina may have missed it if she hadn't been expecting a response. "She should have."

"Your mother is oblivious to many subtle things, I'm afraid. And rather blatant things as well, of course, but I'm not surprised she hasn't noticed your aversion to losing control of your faculties." Regina turned her body slightly towards Emma though kept her eyes on the window they both stared out of into the well-manicured yard. Her voice was lower and softer when she continued speaking. "It hasn't crossed her mind why someone would avoid it."

There was a click as Emma cracked her neck and she placed the half-drunk second glass of water on the counter. Her hand came to rest on the edge, either side of her. The light was low in the kitchen, the sun beginning to sink below the horizon outside, the long, lonely night just beginning.

"Hey," Regina husks. She reached for Emma's hand, fingers curl around her wrist and as she lifts Emma's arm and they twisted, their palms slid together. "You're alright now. You're safe."

"I just wish..." Emma scrunched her brow, "that she cared enough to notice."

Regina moved away from the counter and pulled lightly on Emma's hand. The blonde allowed herself to be slowly drawn in and sniffled as she felt Regina's arms slide around her back. Regina in her heels had the slight height advantage with Emma's boots removed, not that Emma minded as she buried her nose into the crook of Regina's neck. Her own arms wrapped around Regina and they breathed slowly together, neither in any rush to break the embrace.

As Emma felt the trickle of a single tear escape her eye, she nuzzled deeper into Regina, her lips brushing her throat, her breath breezed across warm skin as she murmured, "I love you."

She felt Regina's fingertips press more firmly into her back, and Emma's eyelashes tickled against her jaw as her eyes flickered open. Her body tensed as she pulled slowly away, Regina's hands dropping to lightly rest at Emma's waist.

"I didn't mean to say that out loud," she whispered, and though her heart pounded in her chest, Regina's eyes were warm and wet, her smile soft, and she did feel it. Safe.

"I love you too," Regina confessed, and the vein in her forehead pulsed with each beat of her own heart.

Emma's lips curled upwards and Regina's thumbs rubbed against her sides and before she knew it she had leaned in and pressed their lips together. The kiss firm, Emma's fingers pressed into Regina's sides, a whimper escaping her throat.

Emma pulled back and her face fell, mouth open, a panic seeping in at the edges and tightening her face. "Sorry," she stammered, "sorry. That might not be how you meant it."

Regina's face remained soft, though her eyebrows sat high and her mouth hung open slightly also. Her fingers pulled Emma's tank top into small bunches to hold her, pulling her closer but not holding tight enough to prevent her pulling away if she wanted to. She licked her lips and grinned, her head shaking slightly. "Idiot," she murmured and leaned in, her chaste kiss her reply to an unnecessary apology.

She felt Emma relax again, their lips began to move against each other's, hands once again slid around to hold each other more fully, when there was a knock at the door. Regina broke the kiss and pressed her forehead to Emma's, their breaths heavier than usual and mixing together. 

The person at the door knocked again. "That'll be your pizza," Regina said and chuckled when she felt Emma perk up.

"Pizza?"

Regina pushed slightly and Emma turned, and she took her hand as they walked to the door. "You needed something to soak up the punch. I asked Ruby to have one delivered ASAP."

Letting go of her hand, Emma opened the door and took the pizza from the young delivery boy. One of the lost boys, she realised. She reached for her pocket. "No need, Miss Swan," he said. "Already paid for, tip and all." He jogged back to his bicycle at the gate.

There was a wide grin on Emma's face when she turned around and pushed the door shut with her foot. "Smells amazing."

Regina had both their waters in her hands and followed Emma to the living room where she flopped down on the sofa and placed the pizza on the coffee table. "You'll have some too?"

"No thanks," Regina said, but she sat near Emma on the sofa and passed her the remote control. "Netflix?"

Emma waved a greasy-tipped hand. "You choose something."

Scrolling through the menu while Emma ate her first and second pieces of pizza, Regina finally settled on something innocuous and amusing, and after a few minutes she gave in and took a slice of pizza.

After four pieces, Emma heaved a loud sigh and leaned back, draping her arms over the back of the couch. "Thanks, Regina. That was just what I needed."

The brunette didn't look away from the screen, but Emma could see the corner of her lips turn upwards and her manicured hand patted her knee and continued to rest there. After another minute, she too leaned back into the couch but looked around when she felt Emma's forearm behind her head. 

Her eyes met with Emma's, they both smiled, and Regina shuffled in a bit closer. As she leaned backwards, this time, she reached out and threaded her fingers through Emma's, and guided her hand down, folding it around her. Emma squeezed her closer and Regina rested her head on Emma's shoulder, and Emma, in turn, rested her cheek on the crown of Regina's head. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet, floral scent of Regina's shampoo.

When she awoke Emma felt a pang of disappointment when she realised she was alone, laid out on the couch with a blanket tucked in around her. The TV was still on, the volume low. She stretched and sat up, and noticed next to a fresh, full glass of water on the coffee table sat a note that simply said "Breakfast?"

She drank the water and with a smile and another full body stretch, she rose and padded into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and took another piece of pizza, eating it cold and taking another piece to eat on her way to bed.


End file.
